Uncapping honey frames my new way is simple, quick and cheap.....
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ย. 2024
- I have used every tool out there to uncap honey frames and I am in love with this one. I will never use anything else. This two bladed electric carving knife is super fast, easy and inexpensive. If you get one make sure it is two bladed. Please Subscribe and Like my channel it helps a lot. If you wish to donate for these money saving ideas click on this link; www.paypal.me/... Thank You.
Thanks again for this video, this method is efficient in every way. It is easy, safer, and the caps come off so clean there's much less honey getting trimmed off. I bought an electric knife at a thrift store for $2.00, a new foot switch and speed controller on E-bay for $30.00 and probably saved a few hours the first night of uncapping. More honey went in the extractor and much less into the pile of caps. Ultimately better honey in the end, and for less time, effort, and way less money than a fancy uncapping tool. Thumbs up, Jeff, what a gift.
Thomas, I'm glad this worked so well for you. I bought one from a thrift store also and when I plugged it in, I found that it was broken with only one side working. I figured that I'll give it a try anyway and that defective one bladed knife worked as well also, thanks for watching.
Hi Thomas (and Jeff) - Can you let me know which speed controller you used ?
Hi. I saw (7month) on a video you used an electric knife. Last week I tried to use it for uncapping a frame... It's very simple to use it and quick. Thank's to your share...Good idea 👍👍👏👏🙏🙏. Sorry with my langage...😉😉
I'm glad my video could help you and your language is fine....
@@jeffwillard2417 Thank's a lot...😉 have a nice day...Greg
OMG! Why doesn't everyone do it this way. I only wish I would have known about this 20 years ago.
I wish I had thought of this sooner than I did. Thanks for watching..
Yes also zero burnt honey .bravo
Hi Jeff! We were researching easier ways to harvest honey and found you! Thanks for all the great suggestions! We gave you a shout out on our TH-cam channel, Just dig it farms. Blessings!
I'm glad this idea can help you and thanks for the shout out. You have a great looking You-Tube channel..
Great video, thank you.
Glad you liked it!
I use this method works fantastic
I'm glad it worked so well..
cool idea!
Excellent! Going to pick up an affordable one here (unfortunately not popular enough to be likely to bump into them at a thrift store).
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you so much
I tried this method this past weekend - bought a brand new electric filet knife (9"). By the 2nd frame, the wax was going between the blades, causing the wax to get ripped off the frames rather than cutting them cleanly.
Hi Cornerstone,
Sorry you had problems, I wish I could tell you exactly what went wrong. With my own hives I'll notice a difference between colony's in the consistency of the honey comb wax and I have seen a problem if the comb wax is really warm causing it to stick to the knife blades. I will scrape the edges of the knife blades periodically on the edge of the honey comb frame to keep them clean during cutting. I have also seen a difference in cutting ability with the different brands of electric knives, I think this has more to do with the cutting teeth of the blades because each one that I have is a little different between the manufactures. All I can say is try it again because the video shows how cleanly and quickly it cuts the comb, Good luck...
Did you govern the speed of the knife ? That may have been an issue - speeds and feeds are pretty major issues in engineering
excellent video, will be purchasing an electric knife as we are in the middle of the honey flow in Australia and decapping is always the bottle neck in the process.
Hello greenbank,
Thank You, we are in the middle of Winter here but our honey time is coming up soon. This made my decapping speed up and I'm sure it will help your honey extraction as well.
I like the idea but im having a hard time finding one with a 9 inch blade.
Need a compilation of juet the uncapping.
Would be useful if you said what brand knife, or show a close up of the teeth on the blade, or at least provide the knife length. Also, this also may not work for deep frames unless you can find an electric knife with a 10-12" blade, as deep frames are 9" across, so you need a knife length at least 9" plus extra for the reciprocating blade.
I have used many brands and they all worked well. They were all the same style with the two blades going back and forth. I have picked them up at yard sales and thrift stores.
Jeff, I got an electric knife and it works awesome! Thanks! Unrelated question: Can you think of any reason not to have robbing screens on year round?
Hives really don't need a large opening for the bees, a smaller one helps them to defend the hive. There are so many styles of robbing screens the biggest problem is the opening size; can the drones come and go freely and will there be dead bees that can't be removed through the screen from inside the hive. I personally don't use them I just restrict the opening from an inch to several inches depending on the size of the colony during the Summer dearth with a piece of scrap wood, I just like to keep things simple. Thanks for watching
Can you edit the information of this video to include
* the brand & model of the electric knife (most important is the blade)
* the brand & model & where you buy the speed control unit
* the brand, model, & where to buy the foot pedal
A quick video of how you wired these together...
I am building a de-capping tub (so I can de-cap an entire box of frames at once. Having the nail to hold the frame so I can decap with your system would seem to be the PERFECT (non commercial) system.
Hello Cornerstone,
The first knife I got was used with 9" twin reciprocating blades at a Thrift Store for $5.00, it lasted a couple of years. That one I took the finger switch apart and wire it to bypass the switch, the next one I got lazy and just wrapped Gorilla duct tape on the finger switch and it worked just as well. You can pay from $15.00 to $50.00 for an electric knife, check the reviews on Amazon to get an idea on which knife that would be the best choice to meet your needs.
The foot pedal switch and speed control came from Harbor Freight and everything just plugs into each other, there is no special wiring.
If your building a multi-electric knife decapper I would go with a brand with good reviews and will hold up under heavy use and can be replaced easily as need. When you get it done send me some photos, Good Luck with your build....
@@jeffwillard2417 Hi dear friend .
You can share a link to a shopping site where you can purchase these tools, an electric knife, a foot pedal switch and speed control. ??
thanks alot.
@@tiranhesawi7782 This should help.
www.amazon.com/Proctor-Silex-74311Y-Lightweight-Contoured/dp/B00006IUX1/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=electric+knife&qid=1585429754&s=home-garden&sr=1-5
www.harborfreight.com/router-speed-control-43060.html?_br_psugg_q=speed+control
www.harborfreight.com/momentary-power-foot-switch-96619.html?_br_psugg_q=foot+switch
Is that a sewing machine footpress if yes how did you connect it to the knife
Hi Linda,
It is a foot pedal switch made for power tools, they are at tools stores and Amazon. Which is connected to the speed switch. You may not need the speed switch but the foot pedal makes the job easier. www.harborfreight.com/momentary-power-foot-switch-96619.html
Do I have to have the speed control unit or will an electric knife on regular speed work?
You don't need the speed controller, it just made the knife speed adjustable. I have used the electric knife both ways and also using just one blade. One thing that I do is scrape off any wax on the blades to keep them cutting cleanly.
Hi Jeff I open my box today and didn’t see any eggs too many bees so can’t find queen , when does queen stop laying eggs before winter here in Chicago weather start cold. Thank you
Hi Adnan,
Up in Chicago your Queen will probably stop or have very limited egg laying in the Winter inside the cluster, in Florida which has a mild Winter she will probably lay a small amount all Winter long. If you don't see any eggs or brood hopefully she just stopped laying before Winter and hasn't died. There isn't much you can do other than check again for the Queen, eggs or brood and re-queen in the Spring if the Queen is dead and the hive is still healthy. Good Luck....
Jeff are you still using this method? Any tips on brand of knife? What is the brand in your video that you are using? Thanks.
Hello Baby Bee,
Yes I still use this knife, I only use this type of straight line knife the one's with a handle I find are harder to use. I have gotten them from Walmart and garage sales I don't look for any particular brand. One knife I bought was from a garage sale that I found out later when I got home only worked on one side which was the blade without the rivet locking stud (yes they said it worked at the sale). I gave it a try with the one blade and I believe it was cutting as well with one blade than the two blades working back and forth. I'll always use this method with one or two blades, I wish someone would build a heavy duty model that would last and you could take apart and clean.
Hello Jeff, you are always coming up with some good stuff! Thanks! How are things going for you?
Hi Phillip,
You'll enjoy the carving knife idea. Everything is going well, so far still Covid free...
Great video. Thanks!
BTW, will any electric knife work well, or is yours a special brand that works best?
Any electric knife will work, I even used one that was broken with only one blade side reciprocating and even that one worked.
@@jeffwillard2417
Thanks!
Awesome! I have an electric knife somewhere. Now I just need to find it.
Where did you get the bin with screen and valve?
Hi Jackson,
I made them from Rubbermaid totes from Lowes. You want to get "nesting" totes that are different sizes but will fit inside each other, the bottom was a 66 qt. with honey gate and the top has the bottom cut out in a 15 qt. size. I like the transparent so you can see the honey dripping down. The top dripping screen is a piece of stainless steel 20 gauge with holes that are 1/4" perforated from Ebay fastened on the sides with stainless #8 machine screws, washers and nuts.
The valve is just a standard honey gate and the decapper cross bar is pine sealed with food grade varnish with a coated deck screw in the middle to hold the honey frame while cutting. I also remade the decapper cross bar with a inner and outer lip to attach to the edge of the tote more securely. These are fairly inexpensive to make so I made two, giving the cut comb time to drip over night. I hope this helps and good luck.....
Hi, Jeff. I might try this method next season. Is there a style of electric knife that you prefer? Double-reciprocating blades? Is there a preferred brand?
I’d like to purchase something that works optimally without any time-consuming hang-ups.
Hi Ryan,
I have used different brands with about the same results. I would suggest checking out thrift stores, garage sales and estates sales and buy them at a cheaper price than new. I bought one from an estate sale and found out later that only one side worked but that one bladed knife worked as well as a two bladed one. Thanks for watching....
@@jeffwillard2417
Thanks. Is this still your preferred method of uncapping frames?
@@RyanMcDonnough The only reason for me to stop using this electric knife system is when I'm no longer able to be a beekeeper. My heated knife along with the others are just collecting dust. The only thing you have to be aware of is any wax build up on the outer blades, I usually just scrap them on the wood frames every 5 to 10 frames just to make sure they are clean. The honey usually acts as a great lubricant keeping the wax off the blades, you'll see what I mean when you start. The speed control is purely optional, the last few seasons I didn't even use it BUT the foot switch is a must have because the trigger on the knife is fasten so that it is always on.
@@jeffwillard2417
Thank you very much
@@jeffwillard2417 Next question: how do you melt & process wax?
Hi where u get this knife?
I have gotten them at garage and yard sales, the last one was at Walmart. I find the straight handle ones work the best for me, the ones with the loop handles I find awkward to use. Good luck...
@@jeffwillard2417 thanks mate I live in Australia Melbourne
Do u live here ?
Hi Azz,
I live in the States, a small town near Pensacola Fl. Sorry to see all the fires you had down there, I heard a lot of beekeepers lost hives to the fire.
I have been using a bread knife, may have to find my electric knife after seeing your video.
I wonder if we were using the same style bread knife.......
Jeff Willard it is just a cheep one I got at Walmart
Where did you purchase the speed controller?
Hello Jeffery,
Don't forget to scribe and like my videos. The speed controller is an optional item, your electric knife may not need it but mine did. I originally purchased it at Harbor Freight for my router and sanders.
You tried Cheesewire?
No but that may be worth a try, I would use some piano wire strung on a hacksaw frame so you could use the wing nut to really tighten it up.
Does this leave good comb for them to work with next year? I damaged too much last year and they had to basically start from scratch this year. Looking for a good way to extract and not damage so much honey comb.
The comb where it is cut looks like it was done with a schapel, there is no damage to the comb. Look closely at the frame I just did and you will not see any clumping of crushed comb left on the frame. After trying all the other cutting tools through the years I'll only use this one.
@@jeffwillard2417 Thank you for your reply!
Thanks brother god bless you and your family
Your welcome and thank you...
Just finished processing 2,200 pounds of honey from 88 boxes---used the electric bread knife for all of it. Keep a back up in case of overheating or breakdown. Will add the foot pedal next season as my hand got tired on the trigger.
Ronald, you really put my idea and the knife to an extreme endurance test, I'm glad it worked out so well for you, 88 boxes you got to be honey sticky and tired.... Where are you located?
@@jeffwillard2417 Pulled boxes on Tues, Wed, Thurs with really good help. Extracted on Friday and Saturday---with more good help. I use 7 frames in 8 frame boxes (I'm 5'6" and 150 and 65 y.o.). The bees cleaned up boxes and wet cappings on Monday and Tuesday. Gathered dry cappings and treated and stored frames yesterday. Cleaned and stored supers early this morning. I try to keep the sticky mess to a minimum---but can't do much about the heat---which along with humidity, has been oppressive. Now I make up overwinter nucs with the dark comb that was in some supers. I'm in Richmond, VA.
I watch a guy the other day he used a big puddy knife plus he had a small propane torch that he would pass the blade of the puddy knife threw to keep it warm , worked as good or better as this
Awesome, our heated knife just broke... won't be buying another one.
Thanks for watching..
thank you for this video! An amazing but simple idea - My wife will be happy that the kitchen wont be covered with wax and honey!!!
You have to always keep the wife happy. Thanks for watching!
Excellent idea - Thank you for sharing
I agree with you. Over the years I've had a steam knife, electric knife and all other sorts of blades that cost a lot of money and are all inefficient and mostly useless. You cant even call the steam and electric knives a "knife" because knives are sharp and they are not. One of my best ways was to warm my frames to 35c (95f) in a custom built temperature controlled cabinet and I used razor sharp Japanese Sushi knives, they are extremely light, thin and long (like a mini sword). Your electric knife is very impressive but the Sushi knives were even faster to slice through the cap. Either way, it's great that you identified how useless the 'preferred' way of uncapping frames is.
Hi G.A,
It sounds like we traveled down the same "looking for a device for uncapping" road. This worked so well for me I just wanted to share the idea with other beekeepers. There aren't many beekeepers who can afford or want to invested hundreds and even thousands in uncapping equipment, I know I don't.
@@jeffwillard2417 Yes totally understandable to not want to break the bank with equipment. I've learned time is money, even when uncapping and extracting. I find it painful to watch other TH-camrs spending a couple of minutes per frame uncapping with a traditional electric heated knife or plane but I guess it comes down to how much honey you are producing. I'm making around 1500kg 3000lb per year so I need to run very efficient. Years ago I was considering the electric knife like you have in the video because it does work well as you've demonstrated, but I've stuck with the Sushi knives because they are a little bit faster, lighter and take minimal space on my capping spinner. I'm stretched to the limits and will upgrade to something better that will uncap both sides at the same time but it comes down to practicality vs: cost. I've done a lot of research and I'm leaning towards the twin heated V-blade, most of the other styles of mechanical uncapper are overkill and too costly for what they do.
Hi, Gold Acres. I might try your sushi knife method. Is there a certain brand & blade length that you find to be ideal? I run medium and shallow supers.
Thanks Jeff. This looks like the best way to go. Gonna get one A.S.A.P!
You are most welcome....
Jeff would be able to give me a bit more information on the foot control & speed adjustment unit please.
I think, as you said, this is a pearler of a system, it looks in the video as though the electrical plug for the electric knife is plugged into the speed controller box, however I can't see how the speed controller is plugged into the electricity?
Is this a complete unit which you purchased (if so what is the brand, unit size?) or if you constructed it out of parts etc.
Thank you in advance,
Kind regards from Marburg Australia
Hello Foster,
The speed controller is optional but what is most necessary is the foot pedal switch which plugs into the wall outlet. Just tape the trigger switch on the knife so it is always on and then plug the knife into the foot switch it is that simple of a setup. here is an example of the foot pedal switch. www.amazon.com/dp/B07KN6GLYD/ref=sspa_dk_detail_5?psc=1&pf_rd_p=0c758152-61cd-452f-97a6-17f070f654b8&pd_rd_wg=9HqQR&pf_rd_r=NE30N5RG6JEW1XE4YG2H&pd_rd_w=DGLzo&pd_rd_r=38c70228-8455-4377-8c45-74f7f6cdd8ed&s=industrial&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyWkg2NDlQUlNSMUdBJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNzU0MDAzMjlaR0g3WklBNVU5SSZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMzkwMzMwMjdYODEyUThFNDlYRyZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2RldGFpbCZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=
Ha ha funny you should do this. I just woke up this morning wondering how I was gonna uncap my frames since I don’t have a knife or fork and thought I’d use my electric knife! Let it be said. Let it be done!! Lol thanks for the vid!!
Glad to help.
Hi Jeff I have a question, should I feed sugar water to my bees whole summer? Or it’s ok now to stop feeding them. Illinois Thank you
Hello Adnan,
In most areas there is always a "dearth" in the Summer when flowering plants and trees have stopped blooming this is the time when you should supply the bees with a sugar syrup and also early Spring to jump start the hive population. After saying all that you should also check the bees stored honey in the early Fall to make sure they have enough for the Winter months ahead. Here is a video that may help. th-cam.com/video/O__SPDKm5bw/w-d-xo.html
Thanks for this video. I purchased one at Walmart for $15
Uncapped and extracted 93 frames very quick. There was a lot less straining of wax cappings so just used a paint strainer over the bucket.
Hi Adamson Apiaries,
I'm glad it worked as well for you as it did me. After I tried this electric craving knife for the first time I thought back to all those years I struggled with hot and cold uncapping knives. Remember to subscribe and like I have more useful bee videos coming soon.
Seems like you're not using full depth frames? How would it go on full depth
I use all medium honey supers and the knife works great for that size frame or smaller. I don't know if anyone makes an electric knife with a 10" or longer blade that would fit a full size honey frame. The trick is to keep the blade on the upper and lower part of the honey frame while cutting for a smooth cut.
Thank you for this insightful and genuinely helpful video. I just finished extracting 1200 pounds and found the uncapping to be a major bottleneck----again. Where did you find the controller? Thanks again.
Hi Ronald,
You're welcome and thanks for watching. The speed controller is an optional item, I've used knives with it and without it when uncapping, I even used a knife that only one side reciprocated and that one also worked. I purchased the speed controller from Harbor Freight, they really do help with various sanders that are spinning way too fast.
@@jeffwillard2417 Excellent. Thanks Jeff. I really like the combination of the controller and foot pedal. I'm really tired of the hot knife approach. I always keep a serated bread knife with me in the field to even out the occasional uneven comb and it cuts effortlessly---so I can see how this would work even better. I don't really care for the whole process of processing honey, but this actually gives me something to look forward to next year.
Hi Jeff I have a question, I check my beehive today some frames are 90% honey with cap and 5 to 10% larvae now should I wait for that larvae to complete bee? How does it work thank you
Hello Adnan,
I know throughout the world there are beekeepers with different ways to raise bees and harvest honey ranging from a skep to hive bodies. I personally like to use a queen excluder which keeps the queen from laying eggs in the honey stored combs. In your situation you have three options for honey extraction; 1. Wait until the larva to hatch and hope the cells are filled with honey instead of more eggs and larva. 2. Decap and scrape out the larva before honey extraction spinning. 3. Decap the honey and have the honey and larva spin out to be filtered later.
I have watched videos of skep beekeepers who cut out the good comb to sell and everything else gets put in to a fruit press with burlap and pressed into a drum. You can see the white ooze from the larva also coming out of the press, after awhile almost everything comes to the top to be skimmed off before bottling. I find it unappetizing for any larva, bee parts or hive beetles in the honey or the extractor, I eat the same honey that I sell and I would not sell anything that I wouldn't eat myself and I'm very picky when it comes to honey preparation and bottling.
You may want to make sure you have queen excluders for next year or stack the supers high enough to keep them out of the brood chamber area. Good luck Adnan...
If you don't plan to use a queen extractor you can use one just before you harvest. Install the queen extractor and wait for any brood the hatch out and leave.
do they make them big enough to do a deep frame? I have not been able to find one
A large electric fillet knife maybe long enough.
wow! thanks so much - i always hated that hot knife method
Me too..... Thanks for watching.
perfect idea, thank you.
Your welcome...
Glad I found your video! I was in the process of purchasing 2 heated knives and thought about the issues of unplugging and overheating the residual honey and wax...
we now have 21 colonies so time for an upgrade! I’ll go get one today and try it in one of the frames that are ready.
No heating necessary at all?
And you say it leaves the comb in perfect state?
Can’t wait to try and make my life easier :-)
Thanks for the advice
Hi Jocelyn,
You can see in the video how cleanly the comb is cut, there isn't any clumping or tearing of the wax. You just have to make sure you wipe any excess wax off the blades if it starts to build up, I'll scrape the knife blades it on the edges of the honey comb frame periodically while cutting. Glad to help...
Game changer, well done
Thanks for watching Tony...
Always appreciate how you think outside the box !
Hi Rusty,
Wait until my other videos are made you'll see how far out of the box I am. One thing I won't do is copy someone else's video and call it my own, if I can't develop something new or incorporate an idea into a different concept that is when my video days are over. I think 20 videos of people making sugar syrup to feed bees is a little to much duplication. Thanks for watching!
Ok, now that is clever.
Thanks....
f in the chat for the low people who disliked this video i loved it lol
Thanks Finian..
Jeff Willard no problem
Sold
You like it, I even had a electric knife that one side broke so I removed the blade on the broken side and it worked great only using one blade.
Félicitation... j'essai pas mal de chose pour simplifier la phase de desoperculation, mais je n'avais pas pensais au couteau electrique.. Bravo et merci..
Votre accueil et heureux de vous aider
@@jeffwillard2417 d'où êtes-vous ?? Je viens de passer commande sur Amazon d'un couteau identique au votre... Je vais devoir attendre la saison prochaine pour le tester... Dans tous les cas, merci..😉
@@truygregory7467 États-Unis, j'ai dû utiliser Google Translate pour répondre. Je suis heureux d'aider un autre apiculteur international et de votre accueil.
@@jeffwillard2417 Thank's a lot. I'm sorry, but my langage it isn't good. But congratulationsssss. I'm in Normandy (North west France). I'm beekeeper too (40hives)...
After having "bad luck" (OK, bad technique) with the cold and hot "uncapping knives", I settled on and stuck with using an uncapping comb to pop off the caps to get at the honey. It works very well, especially when the bees don't make the comb nice and uniform (proud in some spots and sunken in others). But it is slow. And when I started going from uncapping 10 frames, to 20, and then more...I knew I needed another solution. I thought about breaking out the hot knife again (more frames, more practice to get that "technique" improved) but then I saw Jeff's video on using an electric carving knife. So...already having a battery operated one (which also has a variable speed switch on it) i gave it a go. All I can say is THANK YOU JEFF WILLARD!!!
I'm glad it worked so well for you, it was a game changer for me also. Thanks for watching..
What make and model battery electric knife did you get with speed control on it?
@@chasingdreams3844I got a Black and Decker 9" electric knife from Bed Bath and Beyond a couple years ago after watching this video. Perfect for a medium frame. Get the momentarily foot switch from Harbor Freight ($15, item 57199 or 96619). Zip tie the finger switch so it stays on and control the knife by the foot switch. Recently finished extracting honey from 39 frames and this tool made decapping so simple. The power cord for the knife is not that long so the knife can't bee too far away from the foot switch (I stand while decapping). A short extension cord fixes that problem. Make sure you have someplace to put the knife after decapping since it likes to roll and is handle heavy.
I bought mine from a thrift store for $5. This method works great.
Hi Jeff, I opened my box yesterday lot of honey and bees I put two more box on top but bees are getting very aggressive so I had to close box since then me and kids can’t go to backyard they are attacking on us
You have what beekeepers call "PISSY" bees, use a lot of smoke in the entrance and on top before you go in again. I would kill the original queen in early spring before the drones come out so that DNA stops and re-queen with a more gentle stock. Good luck.
Always helpful thank you
I dig it! Thanks for sharing!
Your welcome..